Sugar is Also Good for Wounds
by Verdancy of the Green
Summary: "I don't miss home." "... Why?" "There was never anything to miss." "That's not true." "Fine. I miss the food most of all. It's been ages since I had any junkfood or something really sweet."
1. 1 Present Arc

**I have no idea, the idea just kinda popped into my head one day… Anyway, some sources say he's eleven and some say he's thirteen. **

"…"

**I'm gonna say he's eleven.**

Today was peaceful. Lately there had been a lot of peaceful days. He closed his eyes as the wind blew through the stone arches. His seat from the windowsill gave him an encompassing view over a large distance of land. The Inner World was beautiful; no doubt about it. The bright flowers and fruit stood out harshly from the dark leaves on exotic geography with a drawn out intensity. The molten core of the Earth cast a dull yet steady light over it all to complete the dreamy landscape.

The scene still awed him sometimes.

"Hunter!"

Said person was jolted awake.

"Aw, what for?"

Hunter glared at Igneous for a few moments before gazing outside again.

"Something wrong?"

"No, I'm just _bored_."

It was times like this when Igneous wished his friend could understand that fighting wasn't the only way to relieve boredom.

"Don't get me wrong, it's kind of nice not fighting. We only have to worry about any Invectid dissidents, major crimes, or random monsters," he added absentmindedly.

Igneous raised his eyebrows. This was new. He'd have to tell Magma about this later.

"It's just that it's kind of empty here. Aqune and Corona are out exploring the world as handmaidens of the Oracle now that we can afford less Riders and searching for their parents. Even Princess Sparkle is assisting Grasshop with helping the Invectids recover and Prince Lumen is just, well, Prince Lumen. If that's the case, what are the three of us?"

Igneous was sad to realize he actually sort of agreed with Hunter. This was Hunter the Chronic Idiot after all.

"At least you've matured a bit and…" he said tapping Hunter's pocket where the Oracle Keys were, "you are also the Oracle's knight. Not bad for only being here a year or so, don't you think?"

Hunter mulled over the Igneous' words and laughed.

"I guess you're right! I did turn twelve a few weeks ago. It's hard keeping track of Surface time with only an Inner World calendar but I managed," he said, obviously proud.

This made Igneous slip. Today was a strange day if Hunter Steele was actually surprising him. Most of the Riders knew each other's birthdays and took pains to celebrate them if even only a little bit along with help from a few townspeople. The entire kingdom also joined the festivities during Princess Sparkle's and Prince Lumen's birthdays. However, with all the chaos surrounding Hunter's arrival no one had even thought to ask. Even Magma had offhandedly mentioned his one time and the date was dutifully recorded later. Birthdays were important here. They meant you were growing wiser with each passing and coming closer to of age. For a warrior they were of even greater esteem. It meant you had survived another year of battle.

Even if nowadays there wasn't such intense fighting like those in the long, bloody, and drawn out fights in the battlefields of war (which there hadn't been one for over a century since his generation didn't count), the psychological importance had been handed down from generation to generation.

He frankly more surprised that Hunter hadn't raised a fuss over his birthday being completely overlooked. Maybe they weren't that important to an Earthen or the Surface?

"Is that so? Well, Magma's waiting for us at the training site. We started looking for you after you didn't show up."

"Oh," Hunter flashed a sheepish look, "I forgot."

Igneous sighed.

"That's just like you to forget," Shadow quipped.

"Shut up Shadow!" Hunter shouted at his purple Manacle. Igneous sighed again.

"You're just as guilty Shadow. You have been strangely quiet. Why didn't you remind him?"

The spider was silent.

"Well, everything felt so calm, and I kind of…"

Igneous quickly ushered them both to where Magma was.

-o-o-o-o-

"This brings back memories," Hunter said, looking over the rock field where he and Shadow had first fought together.

"No kidding, you told me to die and rolled a boulder down at me."

"… Sorry about that."

"Hunter and Shadow are chatting up a storm, don't you think Brutus?" Magma said loudly on purpose.

Brutus chuckled.

"They are. I heard Venus say when they first met the only thing they did was argue."

Hunter fumed but said nothing.

"Quiet!"

Hunter and Magma both straightened up immediately.

Satisfied he had gotten their attention, Igneous raised his Manacle and gestured the other two to do the same.

"ARACHNA POWER!"

The armor grew over and warped their clothes. When the process was done the three were arranged in a triangle formation.

"I'm gonna win this time Igneous."

"Maybe not today. Why don't we take out Hunter for a change?"

The new target groaned.

"Why me?"

"You _forgot_ that you had a training practice today."

"Now that Igneous mentioned it, I waited here for an _hour_," Magma grumbled.

He swung his club and the head detached to swing at a frightening speed towards Hunter's head. He stopped whining and immediately deflected the club with the staff of his spear. His hands jarred at the impact but he ignored his trembling bones as Shadow leapt forward while he swung his spear. Magma took the opportunity to wrap the cord of his weapon around the base of the blade. Hunter t'ched and his eyes widened as he saw Igneous coming in from the side.

"Shadow!"

"Don't worry!"

Hunter leapt off of Shadow's back dragging Magma down with him. Igneous' lance was hurtling towards him but he stuck out his tongue as he untangled his weapon from Magma's. A careful shot from Shadow on a craggy outcropping pulled him to safety. The lance only cracked rocks and dry soil.

"Flame, after them."

The spider gave chase.

"C'mon Brutus!"

"Got it!"

The spiders each shot after Shadow as they jumped from one rock formation to the next. Hunter yelled gleefully from the adrenaline rush. Flame and Brutus were catching up.

"Let's stop!"

Hunter uttered his consent and Shadow slammed onto a narrow ledge, digging his legs in for traction. Hunter's fingers tightly grabbed Shadow's side as he streamlined his body and hoped he wasn't thrown off by the inertia.

"Hey!"

"Watch your back!"

Hunter couldn't yell at Shadow anymore since Igneous was trying to score another hit against him. He deflected the blow with his buckler then stopped another hit from Magma by using his spear again and bracing it with his knee. The two didn't let up and Hunter struggled with all his might to stay in place as the weapons continued to push at his weak defense.

"Never give up," he muttered, "never give up, never give up, NEVER, GIVE, UP!" he howled as he threw them both back. The effort had completely drained him though, and there was little he could do to stop Magma from getting up and smashing him in the gut.

He flew off Shadow and curled into a ball on the ground. Even Igneous winced at his pained moans.

"Hunter, you all right?" Shadow asked calmly.

"Ugh, yeah. Gimme… a few minutes…" he trailed off and gagged.

"I think I overdid it," Magma apologized half-heartedly.

Hunter was in too much pain to respond. He felt like throwing up.

-o-o-o-o

"You aren't hurt too badly, are you?"

Hunter didn't even look at Magma.

"Oh I'm perfectly fine, if you count a ginormous bruise and that I can't laugh or sneeze without feeling like my stomach's getting stabbed as fine then yes, I'm fine!" he snapped.

"It's your fault for not conserving your strength properly," Shadow argued.

"I know, I know! Don't forget that you almost threw me off."

"Stop that. Riders are supposed to be partners with their spiders."

Igneous gestured discreetly at the small crowd that was forming in the corner of the rock plains where they were training.

"Let's go another way around."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ha ha! St-stop it! I can't laugh! You have to be joking!"

"I'm having trouble believing this too Magma."

"I'm serious; those birds were dancing and had these weird clothes on. I saw them as I was wandering through this creepy part of a cursed forest. Not the one where you met me by the way."

Hunter was caught between pain and laughter and there were tears at the corner of his eyes.

"I said stop-!"

He was cut off by a yell. His eyes shot up to higher ground. The path they had been walking on was low and a good yard or so below the main one to the side. A woman with a hard cane of polished wood had savagely hit a girl multiple times going by her condition. Igneous narrowed his eyes.

"Igneous, I think we need to step in," Magma said, his voice dead serious, "she's bleeding. I'm not sure how much more-" he paused abruptly.

"… I'm not stupid. Hunter, are you in? Hunter?"

His words were lost on the boy's ears. Blood was roaring in them and he stared blankly at the sight. His mouth opened and closed, making no apparent noises. The cheerful expression so evident on his face moments ago no longer existed. To their surprise, Hunter sprinted towards the sharp incline and accurately jumped then pulled himself up. His fingernails scrabbled at the dirt for a bit and left gouges in the road. Without anyone telling him what to do he ran forward and caught the cane. The woman screeched then sharply pulled away the polished wood and hit him again. This time he got caught on the knuckles. The sharp crack told him they were probably broken. He didn't mind. He couldn't feel the pain anyway. Her curses and incentives never reached him. He vaguely picked up "brat", "don't interfere" and "Oracle render you dead in a ditch". Not much really. Every time she scored a hit on him, he ignored it and let her have it. He wondered why he wasn't using his training on her. He could have wrestled the cane away with ease. Then he remembered if her attention left him, she'd notice how Igneous and Magma were escorting the girl away right this moment and then possibly give chase.

Pretty girl actually. All soft features and dark hair with bright eyes.

Crap, he needed to focus on the task on hand. Granted, there was no pain, but he could sense his own body beginning to slow down and refuse to move properly. He hoped someone would come soon. No, it was okay for him to fight off this old lady, right? He snatched away her stick and knocked her back with it. Finally, she could see his Manacle. The gold metal piece on it glinted and reflected in her eyes. She changed and began begging for forgiveness instead. Hunter left her sobbing and looked down to see him covered in blood and bruises. This was a bad day. All the blood would take forever to clean out, not to mention he was going to feel like shit in the morning.

"HUNTER!"

He jolted out his strange mood or daze by Shadow. And then, each bruise and cut began to dig their sharp teeth and claws into him.

"A-ah, Sha-dow. AAAAHHHHHUUUUUGGHH!"

His piercing scream was followed by a sharp collapse onto the road as he could barely move now. The hag, sensing her chance, gripped her stick tightly. Manacles could go for amazing prices no matter where you went in the Inner World. If one could sell a Manacle that basically guaranteed your future to be posh and comfortable. Other nations or kingdoms would turn a blind eye to these rare black market items if it meant more power and troops for them. Manacles were ordained to choose a new master should its old one perish in any way. And for the Manacle to choose a new Rider, its original owner had to be as dead as possible.

Her arms slowly raised themselves. Hunter could barely catch the wood from the corner of his eye. So, this was how he was going to die?

How pathetic.

**So, what do you guys think? If you want it to continue, give a lot of reviews please! It's always nice to hear feedback, heheh! Also, I think the story's going to turn out dark, since I've been reading all these good but depressing mangas ALL BY CHANCE. I mean, really? The idea of why Hunter doesn't miss his home has actually been gnawing at me, so I set to clear that discrepancy.**


	2. 2 Present Arc

**Sorry for making you guys wait so long. I had writers' block. And life in general to deal with. Here's chapter two.**

As Hunter slowly woke up, the room was refreshingly dark. For some reason, he felt as if his eyes were incredibly sensitive to anything bright right now. He could clearly see in the dark, and right now he wanted to sleep some more. As shuffled under the covers he heard a voice pierce through his hazy mind.

"Hunter, don't you _dare _go back to sleep."

He moaned and rolled over to face his Manacle, which was lying on the counter beside the bed. The Oracle Keys and his headband were scattered there as well.

"Lemme sleep," he whined.

"You've been sleeping for three days; I doubt you're still tired."

Hunter shot up in the bed. He yelped as the bandages scraped against his tender wounds. The injuries were still in much better condition than the last time he remembered though. His hand instinctively went up to the wrapping around his throat. The last time he'd been hurt like that it took a while to heal and even longer for the marks to fade away. He just had a bad association with neck wounds in general.

"Three days?" he muttered curiously. The pain had sobered him up.

"Yeah; we figure it was because of the Keys. They did something and you recovered way faster than normal."

Shadow sighed in relief. He'd actually been worried about Hunter. Usually the kid could take a beating and be up in less than a day and a night. This time must've been serious. Maybe what he had done was justified after all.

"Eh? Were you actually… Worried about me?" Hunter teased.

"Yeah! I was!"

The sharpness of the comment threw Hunter off.

"We seriously thought you were going to die! Next time, don't lose your mind like that!"

Hunter blew off Shadow's concern.

"Relax! That was a one-time thing! I swear; cross-my-heart-and-hope-to die!"

"'Hope to die?'"

"It's… a saying back home. It means you promise."

"Good."

Hunter flopped back down onto the bed.

"Hunter…" Shadow growled.

"Only for a moment."

He pushed back his bangs back from his eyes and relaxed for a few extra seconds. His hair had grown a lot since coming to the Inner World, and he actually needed his headband now.

"Hunter."

"I GOT IT! Jeez, you're not my mom Shadow," he said irritably.

"Heh, I didn't even have a mother; put on headband and the Manacle. Don't forget the Keys too."

"Of course I won't forget the Keys! I'm not an idiot!"

"There are more than enough people around to destroy that claim."

"Oh shut up."

Shadow couldn't help but watch as Hunter slipped on the headband. It was an extremely unusual one as far as Shadow could tell. Most people wore simple cloth strips with some decoration, but none were as gaudy as the big green stones on Hunter's headband. Shadow grew bored when Hunter needed to try for the tenth time to get his hair up. He simply blanked out. Completely un-allowed for a warrior he knew, but he needed a break every now and then.

-o-o-o-

He would have never admitted it point-blank to the boy, but Shadow was actually quite fond of the Hunter. True, he had absolutely hated him at first, but then he couldn't help but slowly warm up to his idiot tendencies and almost charming naivety. Hunter more or less made him realize you were allowed to make bonds with others. You could be hurt, yet surely the other person was in pain as well, right?

Maybe he was being too idealistic here. There were definitely times when people made bonds to exploit others. Hunter had only reaffirmed his trust in others. He stopped his pointless rambling and looked from the gem of the Manacle. Hunter was finished dressing. He looked happier and more carefree with his hair up. The sight of his bangs covering his eyes gave him a dark, almost jaded look.

"What took you so long?"

"C'mon! Look at my fingers! They're messed up!"

"A warrior should be able to withstand pain."

"I thought you stopped with this warrior prattling a while ago."

"Contact Igneous and Magma on the Manacle. You need to tell them you are awake."

"Orrrr, I can have fun and go looking for them!"

"Look at how dark outside it is."

"I can hear a lot of people and there looks like there are a lot of torches or lanterns outside too. I'm gonna look for them."

"Suit yourself."

"I've been in a bed for three days. I'm all achy."

"Yeah, yeah."

Hunter smiled at his Manacle, and then did something very uncharacteristic of him. He brought the bracelet up and pressed the gem to his chest, essentially "hugging" Shadow.

"Hunter?"

"One time thing only. Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome."

He dropped his arms to his side and set off at a brisk jog into the palace walls and outside.

As he wandered through the town, he was dazzled by the festivities. There were couples holding hands and lanterns strung everywhere coupled with many people in some of their nicest clothes. Children shot past his legs clutching treats and the pleasant humidity of a summer night gave off an amiable atmosphere.

"Wow~. Is this a festival or a fair? Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun."

"It's a harvest festival."

"Shouldn't that be in the fall?"

"Do you mean seasons? Right now, the hottest time of the year is when food is most plentiful."

"The Inner World is weird. Back on the surface, there's a harvest festival for the fall. Cuz' winter has just ended and everyone back then used to be really happy, since it meant that there was food a cold winter when everything died."

"Are there no crops that grow in the cold?"

"I don't think oranges count. Besides, even you would die in the freezing snow, right?"

"I'd make myself a thick cocoon of threads and wait it out."

"Haaah, lucky spider! I'd freeze to death!"

"Don't worry, if we're ever stuck in a snowstorm and are unprepared, I'll make sure you survive."

"I thought I heard some sarcasm."

The adobe buildings and the soft lamp light made Hunter feel giddy for some reason. It all looked so pretty and quaint. Hunter realized he wouldn't mind living in the Inner World for the rest of his life. There wasn't anything really for him back on the surface. As he neared the marketplace, he caught sight of Igneous and Magma discussing something.

-o-o-o-

"So basically Hunter told me it was his birthday. You had any idea?"

"Nope. Why wait until now?"

"Right now he's unconscious, so we can get him something for when he wakes up."

"Ohhh. That's a good idea. We probably shouldn't tell him what Shadow did either though," Magma murmured.

"What're you guys mumbling about?"

Chills ran up their spines and the two of them jumped back.

"Hunter! When did you wake up?"

"It's okay Magma! I feel pretty good! Is this a harvest festival?"

"Er, yeah."

Magma watched as Hunter's eyes grew bright and he looked at all the stalls which carried strange food and trinkets he had never seen before.

"Have you ever been to a festival before?"

Hunter shook his head at Magma's question.

"No way. I always saw the fairgrounds and they called it a harvest festival and I wanted to go so much," his voice trailed off weakly.

"Hunter!" he called as he saw his friend stumble a bit.

"Damn, I'm still a bit dizzy."

"Did you say something Hunter?"

"No. Sorry about that."

"How are your injuries?" Igneous said quietly, giving his arm as a support for Hunter.

"It's fine. Actually, can we just look around? I've never seen any of this stuff before!"

Igneous laughed.

"Alright then!"

The stalls carried easy to eat foods and little trinkets that seemed exotic to Hunter, but not to the others. There were candied fruits that were a strange color Hunter had never seen before, and when Igneous generously bought him a few, he popped one into his mouth with a bite and nearly choked as the sugary shell broke and the skin of the fruit 'popped' in his mouth. The sweet juice that tasted like cotton candy and bitter coconut trickled down his throat and dribbled from the corners of his mouth. Embarrassed, he wiped his mouth and savored the remains of the candied fruit skin on his tongue. When he asked what these sweets were called, a word fell from Igneous' lips, one resembling a sharp crystal. Rough and uncut, but pretty. He tried to say it, but something was off. He didn't have that vowel accent that Igneous had spoken his entire life.

As Igneous watched Hunter change into a whole new person, he wondered if he they had all been secretly hiding themselves under a blanket of stress and fear. Maybe their true selves were barely visible, but still showing, and eventually becoming their default personality. Perhaps Hunter was under the most tension of all, and he was slowly changing into the person he used to be on the surface.

"Hey, Hunter, do you think this would look good on you?"

Magma pointed to a thick piece of cloth hanging from the rafters of a shop among many others. The piece was hemmed with a bright green color, with a tribal style pattern of a similar color. It was a headband. Hunter barely gave it a second glance.

"But you have to tie it and tighten it all the time; that gets annoying! I prefer this one," he said, pointing to the one on his head made of elastic cloth.

Magma grew annoyed and tugged on the little tuft of hair Hunter had at the nape of his neck.

"I was just asking! What's this random tail of hair you have?"

Hunter jumped and turned around in a dancing sort of motion.

"Oh, that. My gramps always called it my rat-tail. It's just the way my hair grows. Something up Igneous?"

Igneous was biting a thumbnail. There was something that seemed familiar about that lock of hair. He snapped his fingers as he realized what it was.

"Hunter! That lock of hair; it always grows really long whenever you armor yourself! It's almost at your ankles!"

Hunter touched the back of his neck self-consciously.

"I guess you're right…"

"Hey, Hunter, tell us more about your grandpa!" Magma said.

For a moment, Igneous saw a shy, quiet boy take Hunter's place. Then, Hunter composed himself.

"Oh, my gramps. He's the one that told me about the Inner World. He raised me and he was always talking about Arachna Power and never giving up."

Hunter laughed and it seemed that he was reveling in pleasant memories that the other two could never share, to their envy.

"Heh! I'd like to meet him someday," Magma mused.

"Sorry about that! We cremated him, so you can't even see his grave if you wanted!"

Igneous and Magma both abruptly froze at the macabre words Hunter had so cheerfully uttered.

"He's passed on?" Igneous inquired.

"Yeah, he left before his time according to his friends. There was no way the doctors could've saved him."

"I-I see… Why was your grandfather raising you in the first place?"

"Just some problems with my parents- no big deal."

For the rest of the night, they had fun and eventually wandered back to the palace when people began to put the lights out. Try as they could, Magma and Igneous couldn't erase Hunter's disquieting words from their minds.

Hunter ambled back to his room and collapsed onto his bed.

"Argh! I'm kinda tired, but I don't wanna sleep! Same with you Shadow?"

"I took a nap while you were having fun."

"You still heard stuff I bet."

"I did."

"How?"

"No idea. Just a feeling."

Hunter pressed his face into the pillow. He sighed and flopped onto his back.

"Shadow, can I tell you a secret?"

This was new.

"Sure. I don't care."

"My grandpa, he killed himself. He was obsessed with the Inner World. He wanted to go back so much that he killed himself to see if could go back in death. I guess I only came here just to spite him in the end. I had a lot of fun though. As for my parents, they had me by accident. They didn't want me, so they left the baby with her crazy dad and ran off. I think they both are quite well-off right now. They managed to invest a fortune in some lucky business I heard. They try their best to pretend I don't exist, but I think that lately they made an offer to adopt me and take me out of foster care. Too late for that now."

"Wait, wait! That's more than one secret! And what's foster care?"

"Sorry about that. I've been carrying this baggage with me for so long that I need to vent it, y'know? Foster care is when they send children with no family to different homes with people willing to take care of them for a while."

"I see. That's sad."

"I'm happy here though, so I don't care! I just really, really wish Magma and Igneous hadn't brought up the subject. Right after I woke up too!"

Hunter pulled the covers over him with a loud noise, but he left the Manacle on. He had forgotten to take it off. Shadow knew he was trying not to show it, yet he could still hear the quiet sobs coming from Hunter's head. For some reason, he wished that he could use the Oracle Keys and change from Spider to Human, even if only for a moment, to comfort his Rider.

**And I have finished the second chapteeeeeeeerrrrrrr!**


	3. Present Arc 3

**Oh, well, I'm back!**

**Sorry for the long wait. Oh, I just remembered something. On the ship, Hunter is like the only person out of the entire group of riders that can do anything to keep the ship moving. He cooks, he cleans, **_**he**__**freaking keeps the ship on course**_**. So then I thought that Hunter has the potential to be actually quite the caring and motherly sort of person, as weird as that seems. Or he could've have accidently become a sort of linchpin for the group. Just a thought. I read the previous chapters and I winced at how BAD they were… I'll do what I can in order to improve.**

Hunter woke up, a dull ache returning to his wounds. He knew his injuries weren't fully healed, but he felt all creaky like this. He woke up and washed up before slipping on his blue manacle and hurrying to the mess hall for breakfast. He always hated having to get food and go to where Igneous and Magma were sitting. Even though he had been here for a year, there was always talk going about as the other inhabitants of the palace discreetly stared. The maids were especially gossipy, but Hunter had realized from experience that the few rumors that came from the soldiers and male workers were the worst. It was annoying being an Earthen sometimes.

He quickly piled food onto a plate and sat with his friends who looked at him, surprised.

"You're up early today," Igneous said with a smile.

"Dunno. Didn't sleep well."

"Really? You were running around the whole night!" Magma called out.

Hunter laughed it off and started to eat. The two watched as Hunter polished off his food in record time.

"You've been eating a lot nowadays," Igneous commented.

"I know," Hunter mumbled through a mouthful of food, "I've just been really hungry."

Along with the sudden increase in his appetite, Hunter also noticed how he was getting taller too. He was almost as tall as Aqune the last time he saw her. Hunter also knew he was growing from how his old clothes from the Surface didn't fit as well anymore, but he didn't pester the other Riders about it.

The rumbling thunder snapped him out of his thoughts.

"It's a summer shower," Magma commented as he looked out the window.

"Not yet," Igneous mused, "only the clouds are coming right now. It should be a few hours judging by how far away those grey clouds are."

"Are we still gonna train?"

Igneous raised an eyebrow at Hunter.

"You take a look at your body and tell me if you can train."

"Point taken."

"Well, we can still patrol and keep things in check, right?" Magma asked.

"Of course we have to. The festival is still not over. I'm hoping it doesn't rain tonight, or else it will be a very wet celebration."

"Are celebrations only at night?"

Igneous nodded.

"The spiders have their own festival as well, you know. We do this so that we can celebrate together."

"Are spiders even nocturnal?"

"Why don't you ask Shadow?"

Hunter looked at the green gem on his Manacle. He tapped it a few times before finally getting a response.

"Ugh, what is it?"

"Shadow, are spiders nocturnal?"

"Eh, most are. Well, I guess you could say we're more energetic at night."

"'We're?'"

Shadow gave a sort of exasperated utterance.

"Well, since I'm your Spider, I can't do anything but force myself to adapt to your daylight schedule. So now I kind of rest at night and do my best during the day."

"Oops. Sorry about that."

"You don't need to apologize. Wait, can you let me out for the festival tonight? It's been years since I enjoyed one."

Hunter laughed.

"Sure thing! I don't think anything too crazy is going to happen anyway!"

"It's nice to be away from an idiot every once in a while," Shadow sighed.

"Do you still want to go?"

"Sorry."

Igneous and Magma had been watching the entire exchange the entire time before they burst out in laughter. Hunter looked between the two of them, yelling at them to stop, but they kept on laughing.

"You two really are the best of friends!" Igneous managed to gasp out.

"No kidding!" Magma followed.

Hunter could only sit and blush. He was laughed at on the Surface, but this kind of laughing wasn't intended to wound or ridicule him. It was genuine laughter springing from humor and camaraderie. That was why he found it so awkward to experience. Something darker did seem to loom under its surface though.

"Hey, stop it!"

Igneous stifled he laughs and Magma gave himself a few moments to compose himself.

"Sorry Hunter! Hey, Igneous, is Hunter really that much closer with Shadow now?"

Igneous looked kindly towards Hunter.

"Yes, it's true. Didn't Brutus mention something about Venus saying that? You didn't have to ask me for confirmation."

For once, Hunter ignored the stares from everyone else in the room and tried to enjoy himself with his friends. They ate and headed out into the surrounding areas.

It was amazing how the place looked completely normal after a night of festivities. It was almost as if the kingdom had a dual personality; mundane by day and boisterously giddy by night. Hunter couldn't help but anxiously look forward to the festival tonight.

"Oh, Hunter, I suppose I should tell you that yesterday was the second day of the festival. Tonight the ceremonies and proper celebrations start."

Hunter walked briskly, making sure his heels dragged long marks in the dust.

"Like what?"

"There's a ceremony honoring the Oracle," Magma cut in, to Igneous' annoyance. "The entire village gathers in its center and offerings are made to her."

"I wonder if she's happy right now."

"Hunter?"

"During the times I saw her, she was smiling, but she also looked, kind of lonely."

The two didn't know quite how to respond.

"Haha! Sorry, I brought down the mood, didn't I? My bad," he said with a grin.

"I-I never expected you to be such a depressive person, Hunter," Igneous said. He looked almost comically scared.

The idle chatter continued for some time until the rain drops began to fall. Magma and Igneous ducked under an awning, followed by Hunter.

"Guess tonight's festival is going to have clear skies, huh?"

Igneous nodded and bunched up his cape into a knot. The rain had created deep puddles and mud that stuck to shoes and clothes and left hopeless stains. Hunter gave his own boots an examination. Dirt caked the shoes an inch above the soles. The laces had gotten frayed ends, but the material that the boots were made of was good quality and endured the scuffs and stains of everyday use without any holes or rips. The only major problem with them was that the soles had been worn smooth, even before he arrived in the Inner World.

"We need get you some new shoes?" Magma asked. He had caught Hunter staring.

"Wah? N-no! I like these boots!"

Igneous leaned in to inspect Hunter's tattered vest with holes in the pockets instead then. His gaze also drifted to Hunter's shorts, which were beginning to hike up past his knees.

"May I suggest some new clothes, then? You've really let your appearance go to rags, Hunter. Literally. A Spider Rider should maintain a proper image and set a good standard for the citizens."

Hunter waved away Igneous.

"S'okay. I'm fine with these clothes," he mumbled. His two friends gave him questioning looks.

"Really?" they asked simultaneously.

He shivered and took a step back.

"Yeah?"

"That's no good. How can you wear those clothes after constantly putting them through your little adventures every single day? All the laundry servants want to know your secret for getting out bloodstains," Igneous said.

"This weeks th' festival too. Not quite sure about this, but I'm pretty sure some of the folks around here won't like one of the Oracle's own Spider Riders bumming around looking like he fell through the forest," Magma commented.

"I was wearing this when I fell through the forest, and I'm not 'bumming around'!"

"And that's why I _really _think you need to get some new clothes."

He stared uneasily at his friends' expectant looks and fidgeted.

"I- I guess so. I just don't like asking for new stuff. It's weird."

A sudden bout of pain made him wince and hug himself tightly.

"Hunter?"

"Mmph. I'm fine. It just hurts a bit. Don't worry guys."

"Excuse me?"

The three of them turned to face a young girl.

"Oh, I remember you! Obsidian, am I correct?" Igneous asked politely.

The girl shyly fidgeted with the cords of her cloak as her dark bangs fluttered over her purple eyes.

"Y-yes. It's me. Thank you for saving me."

She looked directly at Hunter.

"It fine. Don't let her hurt you anymore," he said weakly.

"It's okay. She can't anyway."

"What?"

"I actually wanted to thank your spider as well. He was the one that killed her."

Hunter stared at her in shock. His jaw went slack, and he found himself unable to form words out of the emotions and disbelief that had suddenly erupted from inside of him. How could Shadow do something like that? Shadow was supposed to be the noble warrior of the two of them. What… He couldn't think.

He had lost his mind and rashly acted, but he didn't want to kill her, or maybe he did- no!

"Thank you so much Mr. Spider. Excuse me, sirs, but I found something strange on the outskirts of town, in the forest. There were people trapped there, I think. Could you please come and help?"

Igneous and Magma glanced worriedly at Hunter.

"Just go."

"Are you sure Hunter? You-"

"I'm fine Magma. I wanna go back right now. You guys just do whatever you have to do."

Obsidian smiled brightly and fastened her hands around Igneous and Magma's wrists.

"Thank you so much! Please hurry!"

She ran off with the two, surprisingly strong as she dragged them along behind her. The rain soaked them as they fled. Hunter watched them silently as he stepped out into the rain.

"I'm sorry Hunter. I don't know what happened. My mind went blank and before I knew it, she was-"

"It's fine."

"What?"

"It's – It's fine."

"I thought you'd be ready to kill me after I told you, so how are you so calm right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have this willingness to kill that's almost scary, but it was because of you didn't always understand the whole situation. I thought you had matured a bit though. That you'd be upset about it!"

"When did you become such a shrink?"

"I thought you weren't this indifferent!"

"Shut up."

"Aren't you scared or confused that I killed her? What's wrong?!"

"Please just shut up!"

"Hunter?"

"I don't want to talk about it! I don't _ever_, want to talk about it! Got it?!"

Shadow stirred at the sudden collapse of Hunter's demeanor.

He had forgotten that the boy was still just a boy.

"Sorry."

"Let's head back to the castle."

"Try not to open your wounds."

Hunter said nothing.

The dead silence that followed them all the way home clung stubbornly.

-0-0-0-

Hunter had been dead intent on giving Shadow the cold shoulder the entire time. He refused to properly answer Shadow's questions or talk. He lay relaxed on the window sill, taking in the view of people busily setting up decorations and stalls as the sky darkened. Finally, he swung his left wrist across his body and out the window.

"Shadow. Spider out."

"Hey, wait, aren't you on the second floor?"

Shadow burst out of the Manacle and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

"It'd be nice to get a warning next time!"

He leaned over to stare down at Shadow.

"You wanted to go to the festival right? I'll go check on Igneous and Magma."

Shadow paused and couldn't help but look up at Hunter.

"I said I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. It was my fault," he answered with a faint smile.

"I'll be going then," Shadow called before leaping away. His threads gleamed ruby in the fading core light.

Hunter watched pleasantly as Shadow seemed to glide through the air. Why couldn't he be that smooth when he was riding? At least Hunter's own sense of balance was good, or else he'd be thrown off all the time.

He quickly ducked as something shiny narrowly missed his temple and bounced off the wall. It rolled slowly to a stop in front of his feet and its core began to glow as it played out whatever message it was supposed to carry.

_Hunter Steele. Your friends and the girl are unhurt at the north-eastern woods. Arrive so that terms may be discussed._

The orb promptly shattered into fine powder. It took Hunter a few moments to gather his thoughts, before he immediately rushed to look outside. Whoever the messenger had been was gone. That person had specifically waited until Shadow was gone before contacting him. He clenched his fists and sprinted into his room. He still had his grandpa's secret journal carefully concealed under a loose flagstone, along with some of the other tools he had brought from the surface. He lifted the slab of rock and pulled out a box-cutter. A year of disuse had not seemed to affect it in any way. There was no rust and the blade was still sharp. It seemed his worries were unnecessary.

As he ran through the stone pillars and the laughter of the people outside, he became increasingly aware of how far he was leaving behind the people. Rage began to overtake his thinking and he ignored any worries he had. He ran and ran and ran until he saw Obsidian waving him over, fear spread about her face.

"That scary person let me go so that I could tell you where your friends were!"

In one fluid motion he flipped out the box-cutter, the clicking sounds echoing as he extended the blade. He aimed straight for her neck, but she flipped gracefully and landed in the center of a small clearing. She eyed him warily. Hunter followed her but stopped near the edge. Gone was the faux innocence in her eyes as it was replaced with a cool, calculating expression. She dusted off her cloak and straightened up.

"You didn't fall for it for even one second. I was right to not underestimate you. As I said, your friends are unharmed," she said. She whistled and a giant sized golem came plodding out of the woods. It looked like dark rock that had been thrown into sagging clay that had not hardened yet. Every step it took made pieces of it crumble. Its hands were fingerless blobs that had a nub that resembled a thumb. Clutched in them was Igneous in the right, and Magma in the left. Their heads limply looked down and they swayed with every twitch of the golem.

"I intended for it to be disposable, as to not leave any traces of my magic, but I do pity it."

She walked over and leaned against its rough surface.

"What a pitiful thing. Made for the sole purpose of being used. Well, at least his existence wasn't accidental."

Her gaze drifted and locked onto Hunter. In an instant, he realized that she knew everything there was to know about him. He pointed the knife at her.

"Who are you?"

Her smile was so kind and peaceful that it reminded him of the Oracle herself.

"I am the Fallen Oracle. The woman who was thrown away when it was clear that her friend was so, so much better suited to the role."

Hunter dropped the knife and stumbled back.

"What? What do you mean?!"

"Since you're going to die, I might as well tell you everything."

"Like I'd let you kill me!"

She hummed something quietly and vines sprouted from the ground and encased him, binding his limbs so he couldn't move an inch.

"If you think Shadow will save you, think again. My allies should be in a skirmish with him as of this moment. He can't help you. In fact, I think they'll probably eat him given the chance."

She smiled over her own little secrets, much to Hunter's anger.

"What? Who _are_ your creepy friends?!"  
>She giggled and clung to her golem.<p>

"Why, they're other spiders. Female ones, to be precise. Quite savage, they are. They eat their mates after all is done and finished. I guess that's why they're ostracized by the other spiders. Who knew such an inconvenient trait would actually survive against all odds to present day? I would have expected natural selection to do at least something."

Hunter shuddered and tried desperately to reach for his knife. He screamed as the vines grew thorns and tightened to the point they were digging into his flesh.

"I apologize. Technically, you shouldn't be able to move all that much, but I felt a precaution like this was necessary."

He bit his lip and tried to block out the pain. He needed to help Shadow, but what could he do?

Obsidian began to pace about for no reason.

"I believe I said I was going to tell you everything? In my opinion, watching someone suffer and die is better than watching them flail about wildly."

"Shut up and let me go!"

"Why do humans always spout nonsense or ask for the impossible? I'd prefer if you'd listen," she complained lightly, and tapped the golem. It began to squeeze, and Hunter stopped yelling.

"Listen, or their ribs shatter and their organs burst. As I said before, I was originally going to become the Oracle. I suppose you wouldn't undertstand without some more information. There is power flowing throughout the entire Inner Earth. In fact, the Inner Earth you could say is an alternate dimension resting underneath the earth's surface, fueled by the heat energy of the earth's molten core. However, the power that allows the Inner Earth to actually _exist_ is quite special. It's something someone or something high above decided to do on a whim a long time ago. In order to keep that power in check and provide a conduit of some sort for it, an Oracle was needed. And so, I was chosen. My body was to become a pathway for that power to safely disperse into the Inner World. Are you listening?"

She walked over to Hunter and lifted up his chin.

"If you're that worried, your mount is still alive and fighting for you. Hurt, but determined to come to your aid. One of those foolish spiders must've let something slip. I trained every single day to become a suitable vessel, and every single day I confided to my friend for support. Before, I was simply a knight of those strange creatures that we never saw, doomed to never accomplish anything, and now I could become a goddess! My diligence and work had paid off. Then, one day, I made a mistake. The power threatened to overwhelm me, and my kind friend grabbed me and all of a sudden siphoned it into her body without dying! She never had any training, but rather instinctively knew the flow of power. I was abandoned without a second thought."

"So you decided to wreak your vengeance or something like that? That's stupid," Hunter spat.

She smiled malevolently.

"I did, in fact. They cursed me, fractured my mind, and sealed me away. I was supposed to be caught in an eternal nightmare. Those Oracle Keys are actually quite important, you know. They are a direct line of power coming through her. They were made to seal me in, due to my own power. The only reason I'm alive is because she begged and pleaded with them and told them tearful stories of the way I recounted my struggles to her. It was only after Mantid took them for his own purposes that I was awakened. It took me some time to gather my strength and recover from the previous damage, but I made it."

"Then why haven't those things from above come down to get rid of you? Why hasn't the Oracle done anything?"

Hunter was visibly subdued as there was no tension in his body. All the fight and rage was all in his massive glare.

"I checked. They apparently went to war eons ago and ended up destroying their precious home and killed many of their brethren. The miniscule few that are left only reside as hermits in the far corners of the Inner Earth. Too shell-shocked and guilt-ridden to do much. As for the Oracle, well, my friend is an interesting case. She wanted to be an all-seeing part of her own, personal world. So she decided at some point to abandon her body and simply exist as the omnipotent goddess of her world. She can't touch me directly. She can manipulate her power to perform miracles, but I'm quite skilled as well. Anything she does I would reflect or at the very least subvert, causing massive damage to the Inner World. She could make this whole forest attack me, but I would undo it or send it elsewhere. We both fully completed our training. She was just more suited to the task. When I was sane again, I decided I wanted to make her suffer. I couldn't kill her, so I would destroy her precious Inner World instead, and I'll begin, with Arachnia."

His eyes widened and he tried to lunge at her.

"Go die! This is my home! I won't let you hurt everyone! How could you do that to your friend?! She saved your life!" he howled. The thorns cut at his skin but he struggled and kicked at them helplessly.

"Who said I liked her that much? To me, she was just lower class trash that took a liking to me. I talked with her to relieve my boredom."

A jab of pain shot through Hunter's heart and he knew they were the Oracle's own emotions.

"Don't lie! This entire time, you've been calling her your friend!"

"That's enough!"

With one kick, she ripped Hunter out of the vines and he smashed through the trees and landed in a shallow pond. The Oracle Keys floated beside him, bobbing gently in the water. Everything hurt, and when he crawled to his knees, he cried out and collapsed again. He coughed out globs of blood and thin tendrils dribbled from his lips. Internal damage. Great. As if things couldn't get any worse. Obsidian appeared with a small _splish, _her feet gracefully sinking into the water. She stepped on his head, pushing it into the water-smoothed stones.

"The Oracle can't fight, so she depends on her Riders, but she wasn't prepared, for _me_," she said, kneeling down to whisper the last part in his ear. His face was half submerged, but he could still speak.

"Go… to hell."

The words bubbled and blurred, but she understood the intentions all the same.

"I won't. Not for a long time. By the way, your mount is coming right now for you. He's too late. A valiant little thing, he is. Too bad he had to be stuck with an incompetent boy like you."

Fury dulled the pain, and he caught her off guard, pulling her down and curling his fingers around her neck. His whole body was trembling from nigh unbearable pain, and blood kept welling up from his throat. Some of it dripped onto her face, yet she still smiled.

"Can you really kill me?" she asked. She reached up to cradle his face in a palm. The gesture was oddly warm and maternal in this hellish situation. This was the woman that would have become the Oracle. As skilled and unbalanced she was, there was still a figment of that sage kindness that had survived her mind imploding on itself.

"You're full of light, Hunter Steele. The darkness that threads your soul is only grief and sadness, and a dash of ignorance. Even now, your interactions cause them to fade with time. Should you kill me, something irreparable will happen to your psyche."

Her eyes, full of knowing, sparkled brightly in the dim light. Hunter was too weak to murder her. She could see him struggling to stay conscious.

Still, she knew his willpower was a force to be reckoned with. She actually considered making him a slave, but decided against it. That force was a double-edged sword. He would probably break out of any brainwashing used on him. Her bracelet twined itself about her wrist and sharpened to a dagger.

In a single moment, she stabbed Hunter through the chest. Hunter uttered pitifully as she pushed him to the side.

"My hair's all wet because of you now."

She gave a cursory glance at the Oracle Keys that floated hear him, then turned away. Their touch was poisonous to her. She could not use them and had something much better anyway. She turned her back on the boy who was about to become a corpse and the pond of red.

With a ringing of bells, she vanished.

**Well, I'm done with this chapter. I was watching the first episode (because of this fanfic!) and I realized that Hunter must have a good sense of balance since he's able to ride Shadow without any training and in the temple he has pretty good reflexes. (Not to mention the impromptu surf boarding.) So I figured I'd add that in.**


	4. Present Arc 3 Continued

**New writing style! I was trying to imagine the festival and I think it'd be more akin to a large party/meet up since their sizes (and the fact that they're spiders) would make doing anything else a bit difficult. Real life is taking such a toll… I also now know a bit more about spider anatomy from AP Bio.**

Shadow's wondering if this festival was a good idea. He's forgotten how… rowdy, they were. Luckily he's not an outsider, but he does wish some of his more embarrassing stories remained untold.

"When you were younger you'd do nothing but pout nonsense about becoming a Spider Rider's mount. Then you got all old and moody after Rose left you. If I didn't know any better that idiot's done wonders for you."

The other spiders listening in laugh and some of them know exactly what Lahel is talking about. Being solitary creatures doesn't mean they all can't congregate every once in a while to converse.

"He's getting a bit smarter. Well, he was always smart, he just didn't know how to use his head," he replies.

The wine colored spider laughs brashly.

"I wanna meet this kid now! He seems interesting!"

Shadow sighs then chuckles weakly. The alcohol that seems to be flowing freely about becomes more enticing by the minute. It would be foolish for a warrior to drop his guard like that though. The conversations seem to become more and more outrageous as time passes as the spiders wander around to soak up their fill of social interaction before needing to part ways. Mounts are probably the few groups of spiders that are constantly in contact with each other, and that's only if their Riders don't go solo. Disjointed music from webs reverberates through the area.

"Well, keep the kid safe and make sure his head doesn't get too scrambled either. I also heard about the Widows being up and about, so tell the others too, alright?"

"I understand," he replies. There's a slight pause, and he warily asks something.

"How's Rose?"

Lahel stares for a second or two at him before speaking.

"She's fine. Out on her own, one adventure after another, comes back sometimes to chat, leaves. You know, the usual."

Shadow noticeably twitches as she sidles by his side.

"Could it be that you're still interested?"

"Back off! I'm just asking!"

"Liar."

"Well, maybe, someday, if Hunter ever stops fighting, then-!"

A large blob falling from the sky smacks down foliage as it hits the ground. Every spider sees it clearly once it lands though and either instinctively flee or prepare to fight. It's a corpse, and it's landed disturbingly close to Shadow. Lahel gasps.

"The eyes!"

The shiny orbs are not there. In fact, from the empty sockets and other injuries seeps something that looks like blood but isn't. Rather, it kind of resembles dinner from a few days before…

Intuition makes his arthropod heart beat faster and his entire body tenses. He remembers something eerily familiar to this. Except the victims that time were his family members. Only one thing could have done this.

As the webs are shot and the bodies land everything becomes terribly clear. It's the Black Widows, and they've finally come after hiding for so long. Those that have fled are long gone and some of the Widows give chase, but a majority stays behind to take on those still here for them. Their fangs glimmer with poison and Shadow makes sure he gets in the first strike.

Once he breaks the tension, the battle begins. He carefully makes sure their poison doesn't pierce the soft parts of his body, like the joints. He wishes Hunter could help armor him, but then he realizes that hot-blooded Hunter would just carelessly join the chaos and get himself poisoned. He's boxed in and lashes back fiercely as poison is carved into his exoskeleton.

He could somewhat understand how spiders could be driven to become Widows, but that doesn't make it any less disturbing. Wracked with grief and sorrow from the loss of a mate or child, their minds disintegrate into not-quite-primal instincts that turn them onto fellow spiders. No one's sure how it happens, but it does, and Shadow's mother became one of them. He fights with deadly precision and accuracy, sacrificing aesthetics for brute strength and speed. He was a warrior before Hunter partnered with him, and he is not helpless on his own. Lahel is there as well, doing even better than him, crushing heads without hesitation. Again, that strangeness about Hunter weakly calls out from the back of his mind. That eagerness to kill and utter ruthlessness is strange for someone so young. All the other Riders steeled themselves against death by telling themselves that Invectids were the enemy or simply becoming accustomed to killing. It took him a few years to properly stomach murdering individuals.

Lahel brutally crushes in one of the major sinuses of the Widow about to pounce on him.

"Stay sharp!"

"Yes!"

The fallen Widow refuses to die peacefully. She screams and shrieks and howls as if she's possessed.

"Kill! Kill the blue one! Or we will not live to see the next night!"

Shadow finishes her off himself.

"What was that?!"

"You could've left her alive for a minute!" Lahel lectures. She shoots one of her specialty webs and an unfortunate Widow flies straight into it, slicing herself in half. Shadow groans and knocks another Widow down. He snaps its legs and helps the rest of the group finish off the other Widows. By the time they're done, the number of dead overwhelms those of the living. Shadow's only comfort is that the majority of the corpses are Widows. He turns to the one whose legs are broken.

"Hey, answer me. Why were the Widows active again? We almost wiped all of you out years ago."

It struggles with its mutilated body and hisses.

"The mistress! The mistress! She will kill me if I am to speak!"

"You're already dead. The moment that 'mistress' of yours sent you to fight, you were dead."

She stares at Shadow with glassy eyes. Her hazy mind can still process logic.

"True are the words you speak. The mistress is the Fallen Oracle. She promised us food if we succeeded and death if we failed. We were to kill you as she planned to murder the Oracle's Knight. Oh woe is us who have strayed from the Oracle!"

Shadow's heart goes still for a few moments as his entire body is enveloped in cold. A horrible, clenching feeling around his organs and sinuses makes his body stiffen. His lungs can't get enough air and his breathing grows erratic. Panic.

Panicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanic panicpanicpani-

"SHADOW!"

Lahel's voice snaps him out of his dementia.

"Think!"

He nods weakly and forces his body to slow down. His mind is running through possibilities.

"Who's the Fallen Oracle?"

"That was what the Mistress called herself. Her power was just like the Oracle's as well. She muttered grudges and maledictions day and night," the spider replies. It seems to have resigned itself to this fate.

"How did she look?" Lahel asks.

"A young human girl, with hair like coal and sparkling amethyst eyes."

Obsidian. The Fallen Oracle is Obsidian. She dragged away Igneous and Magma. She could have lured Hunter away when he was gone with those two as bargaining chips. That old woman was not her abusive relative then. More likely a victim that she manipulated to garner sympathy. She took the two to… somewhere. Remember! Remember!

Lahel whispers chants layered with small encouragements to Shadow.

"You know the answer, don't you? Stay calm. Empty your mind. Think."

"Forest… Yes! I know where they are!"

"Hurry! I'll finish up back here!"

Shadow's off, and as she kills the Widow, she looks at the carnage all strewn about.

"What a way to end his first festival in a while," she says to herself.

"I'm sorry Obsidian. I couldn't let him know."

"That's fine. You did your part Lahel."

"Why is your hair wet?"

"He was a bit testier than I expected. Would you like to return to the Manacle now?"

"Thank you."

Lahel is sucked back into the gem and she sighs in relief.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, the healing effects of the Manacle are working. Thank you for allowing me to live much longer."

The kind smile on Obsidian's expression is sweet enough to make a young boy swoon. She polishes the gem on her bracelet with her thumb and keeps on smiling.

"You are my partner and friend. It would not do to let you die. Soon, you will be completely cured. Are you alright turning against this world that you loved?"

"I don't love this world. I just wish Shadow didn't have to get caught up in all of this."

"Hunter Steele is dead. Your former student's only injury will be to his heart. Otherwise, he will live on."

"I'm not so sure," Lahel says softly, "he completely changed after Rose left, and now this Earthen has made his world open again. To him, that boy is like a valuable treasure. He just doesn't realize it. When you talk to him about this 'Hunter', his talking becomes more animated and his emotions more pronounced. Before, he seemed as if he had lost his ability to feel, and that boy fished it back out from the depths of Shadow. Will grief really be the only injury he sustains?"

Obsidian is silent. She can't answer that. She doesn't want to hurt her dear friend nor lie to her partner.

"Be there for him then."

"Will you let me?"

"It's pragmatic. You can comfort your student as well as glean information from him."

"I understand."

Everything besides his path is a blur. His only focus is on a destination. The fact that he's injured and the fluid leaking out of his exoskeleton makes gathering enough pressure in his legs to jump difficult. A mound of rubble tips him off and he skids to a stop in the circular plain. A small hill of rocks and mud all clumped together. A strange growth of thorns is near the edge, as well as a discarded knife. So Hunter tried to fight back. As long as Hunter tried to fight back, it means that he's alright. He'd never go down if he still wanted to live. A scrap of cloth caught on a jagged stone in the mud pile catches his attention. It's a piece of Igneous's cape. There are drag marks going into the trees. Silently, he hopes that everyone is alive. He hopes that Hunter is alive. Even against a goddess, he tells himself that Hunter would never give up. He'd find a way to stay alive.

_Unless he fought to the very end, _a mean spirited voice inside his mind whispers. He shudders and follows the marks into the woods. At the very least, he knows that they all were strong enough to tear their way through the plants. For some reason they didn't summon their spiders, so he's still worried. A light beckons to him from further off, and he begins to sprint again. He bursts through to see Igneous and Magma kneeling in front of a pool of water where the light is coming from.

"Igneous, Magma! Are you guys alright? Where's Hunter? Why didn't you have Flame and Brutus hel-"

His voice catches on a delicate snag, in the middle of a scale of notes as he finally notices what the light is.

"Shadow. Don't panic. I think he's alive. Don't worry," Igneous says quickly, his teeth clenched, "Flame and Brutus are both hurt; stay sane."

"Listen to him Shadow," Magma grinds out. The two of them are covered in mud and water and look like they've been dragged through a swamp, but Shadow's attention is solely on the block of crystal in front of them. Its four corners each have an Oracle Key imbedded in it.

Incased in the center, is Hunter Steele. His Rider and friend.

**So, that's that! Next is going to be the past arc, I think. R&R?**


	5. Past Arc 1

**Ok… Here we go. Watch as I try to hash together a legitimate backstory. Sorry you guys had to wait so long. School's out, so I guess updates will be a bit more frequent? I'm pretty busy this summer.**

**Back stories are hard….**

In this state of near death, his mind- no his consciousness takes some odd turns. He's thinking, but he not. He's remembering, but living it. If he's almost dead though, how is he living it? Everything tumbles into a writhing mass of mud and angles. His sanity is turning to shambles. The Oracle fusses over her poor Knight's soul as his body is being repaired. Her usually serene face is slightly flawed with worry. What a complicated soul this is. She needs to heal him, but it does his mind no good to stay trapped in a dream for too long. Yet when it is pulled away from the body like this, it becomes unstable. Well, only for the pure ones. Most souls have traits and quirks and regrets and sadness and many other wondrous little things that all come together to create an "ego", but Hunter is so strange. Sadness and innocence are there, as is that indomitable will, but it's too much. His soul is like a bubble or an egg, but worse. The pureness and emptiness that makes him such an open slate for his future of endless possibilities is too fragile. Without his body as a container, the grief and sadness and his philosophy to "never give up" all collapse in and threaten to overtake the blankness. She realizes she can't do much but put him back inside his body. The soul becomes stable again and she decides have him replay his memories rather than let his psyche grow stagnant in his mind. Time dulls memories, and usually for good reason, but there is nothing else she can do.

-0-0-0-

Hunter's eyes widen as his grandfather smiles and unwraps a bundle of faded, moth eaten cloth. What designs that used to be there are barely visible. Their dingy, little apartment may be old with peeling paint, but hidden under floorboards and in closets are small treasures. The light is dim, but the green gems on the headband still sparkle brightly. His grandfather gently takes Hunter's small hands and places them over the stones.

"This used to be your grandmother's," he says quietly. "Do you want it?"

"Granny's? Was she a nice lady that would make me cookies?"

"Cookies? Where'd you get that idea?"

"Other kids at school say their granny gives them gifts and bake them cookies. They say I'm lucky I get to live with you."

"I guess I do spoil you. Well, you don't ask for much, and for that, I'm grateful. Your grandmother probably wouldn't bake you cookies though. She'd probably be teaching you how to wrestle or balance."

"Like you are?" He glances at the balance board in the corner of the bedroom, as well as the wooden sticks and wrappings.

"You're gonna be a fine Spider Rider someday."

"My teacher says it's alright to exercise, but that I should worry about this world a bit more."

"Nonsense! Someday, you're gonna go to the Inner World. Promise!"

Hunter giggles and hugs his gramps.

"Okay!"

At school, very few people tease him about his new headband, and they can't help but flee or stutter in shame when some of his peers talk back, saying it's his dead grandmother's old headband. It's a bit surprising. He also doesn't know why he told them something so personal. When he's starts talking, sometimes he lets things slip. He hopes it's a habit he grows out of. The odd accessory does grab him a few curious friends, but most of them leave when they realize he does nothing but talk about a place they've never heard of and not the newest shows and toys. Things are a bit lonely for him. His teacher calls him during free time to talk to him.

"Hunter, I can tell you're a _very_ smart boy, and you always look _so_ interested in class, but look at this," she says, sliding a test in front of him. "You skipped an entire row of problems for no reason!"

"Oh."

The entire line of simple addition and subtraction seems to mock him. The leery -looking zeroes stare at him evilly.

"Are you _sure_ you understand?"

"Yeah, but Josh kept throwing stuff at me!"

She sighs.

"Just do these problems and I won't have to tell the school you might need to be held back."

He picks up a pencil off her desk and finishes them in a flash.

"Done."

She shoos him away and he fumes over how the teacher treated him like an idiot. So what if he's in a hurry and just skips stuff by accident? It doesn't mean he's stupid or anything. He plays alone and focuses on imaginary scenarios in his mind. Unbeknownst to him, his teacher watches him with worry in her eyes. He's too lonely. Too isolated. Too obsessed.

What can she do though? His guardian has already decided this as the best path for Hunter, and while she discreetly admires the boy's stunning willpower, she can't help but hate how his grandfather has doomed him in this world in the hopes of making him a hero in another one. What utter selfishness! What warped love! She makes it a note to talk to Hunter's grandfather during Open House night. However, the night comes and passes, without even a glimpse of the man, so she quietly accepts the situation.

Hunter is lonely for a first-grader, but his delusions trick him into thinking that there's nothing wrong. They whisper to him tales of greatness in the Inner World and sweetly croon to him how wonderful his Gramps is. He smiles and laughs, but on the playground he's alone, and the moment people wave goodbye his face quickly molds back into indifference. The thirty minute walk home is a bit long for a six-year-old, but he takes it in stride and his legs are strong. When he gets home, the apartment is empty, and he cooks his own dinner after finishing his homework. Gramps works late. His job takes him everywhere. It pays well, from what he's heard, but Gramps is smart and saves as much as he can. The flat piece of wood somehow remains parallel to the floor with Hunter on it as it lies on the side of a sturdy cylinder of metal. It barely tilts and the can hardly rolls as Hunter reads some pages of an interesting book he checked out from the school library.

_I wonder what magic's in the Inner World, _he thinks.

The stubborn door creaks open, flicking specks of chipped paint all about as Gramps comes home.

"How ya' doin' Hunter? Eat dinner already?"

He hops off the board and runs over.

"Yep! Will you tell me a story?"

"Practice first."

Hunter groans.

"Fine."

He picks up the wooden staffs Gramps found and smoothed out during a hike. There are pale patches where the constant touch of their hands has worn away the older wood above, exposing the paler wood underneath. Gramps picks one up as Hunter stretches his limbs, then lunges in. The boy is prepared though; he feints a blow from the right and instead lets momentum drag him towards the ground and under his Gramp's attack. A strange exchanging of blows occurs, with an emphasis on fluid movement and a lack of rigid style. The exercise leaves Hunter with a few bruises. They shift the sparring onto balance boards now. Despite his age, Gramps skills have barely dulled. Again, Hunter uses his momentum and weight to swing himself to the side and under the blows with using the least amount of muscle. He manages to stay on par with his gramps for about twenty minutes before his Gramps swings the staff straight into his side.

Hunter gasps and hits the ground with a whimper, before forcing himself to get up. He gratefully grabs at his Gramp's arm.

"Well, I think that's a new record!"

"Really?"

"Definitely. You know, your birthday's coming up. I got an idea to get to the Inner World. Wanna come?"

Hunter's eyes shine brightly and his head grows hazy with excitement. Even his stomach is twisting uncomfortably in response. He feels energy bubbling inside himself.

"WHEN?!"

"This weekend!"

He yells happily and jumps about.

"Arachna Power!" his gramps shouts.

"Arachna Power!" he mimics.

-0-0-0-

The day comes and Hunter is all packed up with his Gramps. To his surprise, they're not bringing much. Just some water and food. His gramps has memorized detailed maps that he made when he lived in the Inner World and they're waiting at a train station.

"Okay Hunter, I'm gonna go first. Once I'm gone, you wait for the next train and do the same thing, alright?"

A brief nod and his gramps is waiting by the side of the track with everyone else. A train sound its whistle, signaling its inevitable arrival. It puts on its screeching brakes, but not fast enough as Gramps jumps right in front of more than a couple hundred tons of fast moving metal.

"ARACHNA POWER!"

The crunch that sounds is like a bug being crushed, and from the blood on Hunter and his Gramp's mangled corpse underneath the train, that's a very apt simile.

Hunter's inheritance is small but extravagant. A small fortune tucked away in an account with restricted access, various antiques of an unknown origin, and a pocket notebook filled with details about the Inner World. As for custody, he's shunted into foster care, since his parents don't give a damn and have success to achieve first.

**Whew! I'm done. Yes, I made his Gramps a bit messed up. The math thing I talked about, it was actually something I did quite frequently myself.**


	6. Past Arc 2

**Well, onwards we go! Wow, it seems like I pissed off a lot of people by updating so slowly… Urgh, this is probably adding oil to the fire, but I have an internship starting up soon as well… ehehehe… **

**I'm sorry but I mainly write by stream of consciousness! If there's nothing there I can't write…**

Hunter's parents contacted him and the orphanage briefly, to say that they couldn't take him right now. The messy scrawl on motel stationary stated that they were currently in the middle of a risky business venture and that they were unable to properly care for Hunter. Hunter looked at the plain envelope with a single stamp and tore it to shreds.

How was a first-grader supposed to react in this situation? With hate? Fear? Anger? Contrary to that, he felt nothing. Just an empty void inside him. Nothing had changed really. The hole in his chest had just gotten a bit larger. He glanced outside. Today was a sunny day. He went outside with some of the other kids who had snatched a magnifying glass from a teacher and began burning the ants. They looked like they were having fun. He tried to imagine them as the Invectids Gramps told him about. That made it seem a bit more fun. As the little black blobs writhed about, someone hoisted him up by his collar. The other kids scattered as he was placed on his feet.

"We need that."

The older boys stared expectantly at him.

"Well?"

Why did they keep staring at him like that?

"Wait, he's new. We gotta teach him the rules around here."

"Dude, what's with that dorky headband?"

Cigarette smoke twined about him and he wrinkled his nose.

"Don't look at us like that!" one of them retorted and shoved his cigarette into Hunter's mouth. Hunter spat it out in a hurry. His bangs slipped down a bit and he spun around and began trying to grab at his headband.

"Aw, look! Shorty!" the boy taunted. He began to try to pry off one of the gems. All of a sudden, Gramp's words and training popped up in his head and he smashed the magnifying glass and swiped a glass shard across the eyes of the tallest boy.

-0-0-0-

"…he's _blind, _and the other two nearly bled to death! He aimed straight for their necks!"

Hunter sat on the bench, swinging his feet underneath. It was like waiting in front of the principal's office, but with less tension. The lady opened the door, her kindly smile slightly forced.

"Hunter, come on in."

He hopped off and followed her inside. Her office was a nit plain and lacking in ornamentation, but the blue it was painted in looked very nice. The sunlight streaming in from plate glass windows was a nice touch as well.

"Here Hunter," she said, sliding behind her desk, "wipe the blood off your face." She gestured at the tissues on her desk which he used.

Her back looked particularly stiff and her eyebrows were scrunched as she smiled and asked him many things about Gramps and himself.

"Why did you hurt them?"

"They were going to hurt me, and Gramps said anyone who tried to hurt me for bad reasons was an enemy."

"And enemies were to be killed, if I'm following what you said before," she finished. Her discussion with him was surprisingly intelligent and coherent. It was very different from other boys his age in the orphanage and more like some of the older girls in fact. He words shifted from brash and angry to soft-spoken and cruel. She wasn't sure whether his grandfather had raised him well or created a monster. Maybe he was a chimera. Some of his parts were sociopath, and other parts were an exceptional boy. Still, the fact that he attempted to murder two boys was downright frightening.

"Hunter, you can't go around trying to kill people."

"I can't?"

"Did no one ever tell you murder was bad?"

"Murder? What?"

Her fists clenched.

"I guess a six-year-old would have no business discussing murder and the value of human life," she said weakly. "Killing another person is bad, you understand? You are taking away from someone their life."

Hunter stared at her with his green eyes, and she instinctively leaned back in her chair. Such hard looking eyes, like radiating emeralds cold to the touch.

"It's bad to kill people. I understand."

"You're lucky we cleared up everything with the police. Next time, things might be different."

"Alright."

And so, a few months passed without much incident. Hunter's smile came back fairly fast, he woke up less often in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, gained a few friends once the initial panic had passed, and became sort of a favorite among his peers.

Fast forward a bit more and he ended up with his first foster care family. A fairly normal, kind old couple. He didn't really remember them. They passed through his mind suspiciously fast. Actually, most of them slipped through his memories like that. Hazy recollections that were worthless to him were erased by his mind. He remembered of course that murder was bad, because it was important, but things like random families that didn't talk to him much with children with that slipped dead animals and bugs under his blankets and called him "garbage boy" or "trash baby" weren't that important he forgot them. One time, when he noticed that his shoes were falling apart, he told them, and he could tell how both of them tried to hide their frowns and scowls in front of him before complaining from what they thought was the safety of their bedroom. Another time, there was this family who was a bit odd. She got permission from the school to let him text her where he was every hour and he couldn't walk home alone; she drove him. She wouldn't let him eat the school food and wanted every friend he made in school to visit the house and personally judge them. None of them seemed to pass. She really meant the best though.

He really liked this one family though. He forgot their names too though. He got too used to calling them "mom" and "dad" after a while. They were lonely but happy, and Hunter seemed like the perfect addition to their formerly two person family. Things were a bit tough at first. It seemed they just brought him a bunch of stuff and just… left him to their devices. Then actually started trying to talk more, and that's when the floodgates opened. He liked talking to them and they liked listening to him. It made him happy. They would butt in whenever they thought they heard something absolutely ridiculous, but then give off an exaggerated sigh with a smile on their faces. They told him all sorts of stories and they brought him on their random camping trips and somewhat sporadic trips to the beach.

"Hunter, can we ask you something?" Mom asked.

"What?"

She blushed and waved him off. He found the adoption papers shoved haphazardly in a desk. The next day, his parents inquired about bringing him back under their custody. The business venture had been a roaring success and they had crawled out of the hole they had been living in to escape the loan sharks. Now, they were rich, powerful, and successful. All they needed was the long lost son to complete the picture. The family visit ended badly to say the least.

"You abandoned your son for how many years?!"

"We were young and stupid! And now we want him back!"

"Can you hear yourself right now? Parents care for their child no matter what! You abandoned him before and now you want him back? Don't spout that bull! He's not a pet you-!"

"He's our son! Blood is thicker than water!"

"The true phrase is 'the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'! You gave up the right to care for a child years ago! We've spent time and memories together! And you want him to leave that all just for a family that discarded their son away like that?!"

Their faces turned so red at that that his mother just stomped away out the door in her heel as his father angrily slammed it shut. Hunter watched, and was quiet. Nothing felt real. What happened was a delusion. Why… Dad came and hugged Hunter tightly.

"Do you want to stay with us? I'll let you go back with your real parents if you want," he asked gently. Mom nodded, her face cold and indifferent. That's how he knew how angry she was. Usually there was always at least a smile.

"I want to stay. I don't care if I never get to go to the Inner World. I'd rather stay."

"Alright."

**Whew! Done!**


	7. Past Arc 3

**I'm back. I've been thinking about random stuff… Sorry. Urghh… I really need to keep track of when I did so and so and etc.**

The verdict was announced and he didn't remember what happened next.

When he woke up, he was staring into the faces of his mom and dad, and then saw their hazy shapes getting pushed away by his new mom and dad.

"Omigosh Hunter! Are you alright? It's all over; your real mommy and daddy are here," his mom sobbed as she hugged him tightly. His new dad looked at him with worry, but Hunter's eyes were focused solely on his old parents. He tried to reach out, and he could hear them screaming something as the guards pulled them away. His arm fell limply to his side and he watched them until they disappeared behind heavy doors.

He saw them a few more times. Chats on the internet that turned text-centric when his new parents were home.

No letters, no phone calls-just the internet.

_Hunter, how are you?_

_Fine. When can I see you again? In person._

_Don't know. Your parents put a restraining order on us._

_How?_

_They recorded our last meeting._

_Oh._

_How's school?_

_It sucks. Too many rich jerks. Not enough nice people._

_Oh._

_I want to see you. _

The sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs. He quickly closed the chat, switched to another site and pretended to blankly surf the web. His dad silently walked past his room and he swallowed hard. When his dad finally went downstairs again after what seemed like an hour, he clutched painfully at his chest, as his heart fluttered nauseously.

He gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to smash his laptop. He didn't feel like talking to his parents anymore. He shut the laptop and flopped onto his bed. It was so soft that even his thin frame could leave an impression on it. He wouldn't mind if the mattress simply folded in on itself and ate him. Anything better than this whole situation. There was something off about the way that he was treated. They spoke sweetly to him and smiled emptily while they bought him lots of things while grumbling under their breath at the same time. He couldn't quite grasp what they were thinking. He was being locked out of the loop. A year into his captivity, he got a lucky break. He realized that his parents had late night chats when they thought he was asleep.

Balancing on the spiral railing of the stairs, he moved his way horizontally, avoiding the squeaky wooden floorboards. The metal rail never even once budged or hummed with a reverberation when struck. It was solid and heavy. Quietly, he eased himself to the floor, feet just tapping the floor.

"Having a kid is more expensive than I thought," his dad spoke softly.

"I'm so glad we have the money that man left him, but it's running out. Investments aren't doing so good, and we still have to pay that tuition. Dammit, I hate keeping up appearances. Thank god we were being careful, using the inheritance first before our own money or else we would have been broke."

His mom's voice seethed at the mention of her father.

"Where'd he and my mother have all that stashed away when I needed to go to college? It was never about academics, only that stupid training for his stupid fantasy. At least mother was more understanding, but he would just never give up!"

"Calm down. He's not here anymore. We still have Hunter anyway. It doesn't seem like your dad gave him any weird ideas."

"I know, I know. It was a good idea to use the inheritance, but it doesn't feel right."

"Don't worry about it, the stock is going up; we'll have that money back in no time. Maybe even enough extra to pay him through college and graduate school."

"Yes. We owe him at least that much. I just wish that he could've met his grandmother as well. She always dealt with her husband with a smile, and she would tell me stories about the Inner World before I went to bed. Nothing crazy like that man. Just stories. She pretended that she grew up in the Inner World, you know?"

"I remember you telling me that a few years ago. Why bring it up again?"

"Ah, it must be Hunter. We made a mistake, didn't we? Leaving him behind like that."

"I don't know what to do with him. He hates us."

"As parents, we're not very good. Either way, I don't ever want him speaking to those other two ever again."

"I still think that's a bit extreme."

"No, do you remember the last time we met? It was a disaster! All that screaming and yelling right in front of Hunter! They didn't even care he was there and just escalated the whole situation," his mother said bitterly, "those people didn't care about him! Only the money; buttering him up, trying to adopt him for the money-!"

"Honey, you're drawing to conclusions."

Hunter had heard enough. More information, more questions, barely any answers. He was so… confused. Silently, he slipped back to his room. He plugged the door slat with a jacket and turned on the lamp. His grandmother's headband glittered underneath the warm light. Out of boredom and an ensuing anxiety attack, he picked it up and began absentmindedly rubbing at the gems with a thumb. After some time, he began blankly staring at the ceiling. What was he going to do? He felt stuck. Yes, that was the word. Stuck.

He did wonder what kind of person his grandmother was. Gramps hardly said a thing about her. She was kind and pretty and strong. That was all he knew.

_It's gonna to be alright. Try your best to go along with life, but fight what you have to._

His eyes widened and he began looking all about. Maybe he was just imagining things. He stared back down at the headband and smiled weakly. He actually kind of hoped he wasn't.

-0-0-0-

A strangled noise escaped from his throat as his parents caught him in the middle of a video chat. They were supposed to be gone for at least another hour or so. Slowly, his twisted his head around to look at them. He needed to see them to acknowledge that what had happened wasn't some twisted delusion. This was literally the worst possible scenario. He smiled uneasily at them with a hint of wildness, and faced the screen again.

"Bye," he muttered, with a small wave. The two of them nodded from beyond the screen, right as it was slammed shut right in front of him. He could hear the crack of snapping plastic and glass from the impact.

His internet usage was heavily restricted after that.

**Yo. This is done. Dude, if I take too long to update, send in those complaints. They motivate me and remind me that this is a thing.**


	8. Past Arc 4

**Eeek! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry; I've got a full-time internship right now, volunteer on Saturdays, other stuff Mondays and Wednesdays, ACT practice every night/AP Gov homework, a horrible feeling of apathy that I can't shake off, and a desire to just slouch about. And then I lose track of time. Urk… I'm really, really sorry, not to mention I'm such a slow writer in the first place… I wonder what's going to happen when marching band season rolls around. In about two to three weeks just for a heads up. And then it's almost a week of twelve hour practices under the hot sun. And then practices every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for about 4 to 9 hours depending on the day. And then the mental breakdowns start since college apps are around the same time. And then I have three AP's to worry about. **

**Orlz. I feel really guilty making you guys all wait like this. Orlz. Please forgive me. I swear I will carve out more time for all of my beloved readers. I keep on forgetting that people actually look forward to my chapters. It's sometimes okay if the only person getting inconvenienced is yourself, but when others are involved it's no longer okay. I do believe that, and I don't like turning back on my own values, so I'll do my best.**

**I swear I'm not doing this on purpose; believe me ;;**

He couldn't help but laugh as he saw the faded notebook at the bottom of the box.

"Gramp's journal!" he yelped. He snatched it up, but almost dropped it again as some flakes of paper crumbled under his heavy hands. Gingerly, he held it and began reading, moving eventually from the ground to his bed. As he lay flat on his stomach, he read about the Spider Riders and stories of their heroic bravery against the cruel Invectids. At one point, the beautiful Luna was mentioned as a Maiden of the Oracle. After that, the rest of the journal was basically about Luna, and how strong she was, how kind she was, what a wonderful person she was, how her eyes sparkled under the moonlight, how pretty her blue Manacle was compared to his own plain gray one—and many other things. Eventually, the two of them went back to the Outer world together since Gramps was homesick, but then things turned sour. Luna could freely travel between the two worlds, but Gramps couldn't. The journal grew disoriented and rambling, before finally ending at the implied birth of a child of indeterminate gender. He could feel the bile rising to his throat and rushed to the bathroom to throw up right as faint memories of blood and trains splattered his mind. He gripped the porcelain bowl as his body convulsed and he didn't stop until everything he had eaten today was swirling down the bowl. It came to the point that he wanted to gag but couldn't. Coughing, he flushed the toilet and washed his face the sink. At the tender age of eleven, he wanted to die.

Laughing and smiling when he couldn't feel anything, and wanting to always be active and moving to keep his mind blank. What a simple existence. However, the Inner World quietly beckoned to him from the back of his mind as the quarter of Maiden blood rushing through his veins sang for the Oracle's home. He didn't realize it at that time of course, but his will to see and experience the Inner World wasn't because of Gramps—it was because of his heritage. He went to sleep that night dreaming of Gramp's adventures and his beautiful grandma that he would never meet.

-0-0-0-

School was an endless, monotonous repetition day by day.

Wake up.

Breakfast.

Classes.

Food.

Classes.

Food.

Classes.

Track practice.

Go home.

Homework.

Dinner.

Talk.

Finish homework.

Sleep.

Repeat.

Over and over again until he felt like screaming. Nothing ever changed. Nothing. The endless days, the shallow small talk, the discussions about higher education, and not much of anything else. Irritably, he tugged at his tie in the one room in the icy school where air conditioning had failed. History. Then, his teacher piqued his interest.

"To enhance your study of this time period, we will be going to visit cities from that time period from cultures such as the Mayans and the Olmecs."

Hadn't Gramps journal said something about the portal being similar to a Mayan temple of some sort? If they were going to visit that area…

His teacher pulled down the world map and began pointing out the areas they were going to visit.

Hunter's mouth dropped open and he quickly shut it. Some of his classmates who had seen snickered, but quickly shut up as he glared at them. His reputation here was surprisingly good. The ace of the track team at pole vaulting due to his speed and impeccable balance, and his (false,) outwardly bright and cheery personality attracted others to him. It still wasn't good to attract attention to yourself in this school though. He still had bruises from when he'd fought off the bullies. Maybe he could go and visit the Inner World. Maybe, just maybe, he could leave here and start over. The hope welled in his chest.

To be able to start over and carve out a new existence for himself.

The possibilities were endless.

-0-0-0-

His pockets were padded so that the clinking of the tools he'd brought wouldn't be so noticeable. Amazingly customs had let through the knife because it wasn't in his carry-on. As they hiked through the forest, the humidity and heat wrapped uncomfortable around him, like an oppressive spirit. He could see the fatigue in the faces of his peers. Mentally, he went over the journal's maps. Around this area was the temple. His eyes darted about, ignoring the beautiful plants and animals that the teacher all admired very vocally. They were trying to raise the morale of the students he could tell, but were failing miserably. Then, he saw it. Far out into the distance, looking more like a triangular peck than a temple, was the place in the journal. His breath caught in his throat and he stopped walking for a bit.

The person behind him bumped into him.

"Hey! Keep walking! It's too hot!"

"Oh. Sorry," mumbled and hurried along.

After what seemed like ten minutes, he asked to go to the bathroom, and lost the teacher. He was still holding his pack, but everything he needed for now was in his pockets. He hiked and hiked and hiked until he was drenched in sweat, but resting under the shade of the ziggurat. Walking around, he could find an opening higher up, then slowly began climbing until he reached it.

At that moment, he paused to look around. Everywhere was a blanket of lush, verdant green. This would probably be the last time he ever saw the Outer World again. Briefly, he wondered what he would miss. Not his family, that was for sure. He did like sweets and junk food though. He mentally berated himself for not even eating a piece of candy before leaving.

Then he turned around and examined the entrance.

-0-0-0-

The clear crystal shattered and he became conscious the moment his back hit the ground and sharp shards of rock pressed painfully into his back. He gasped for air for a few minutes, then slowly got into a kneeling position of some kind. The Oracle Keys slid off his chest and onto the ground. He blinked dazedly for a bit, then slammed his fists onto them.

"Why would you make me remember that?!" he cried.

"Why?!"


	9. Present Arc 4

**I was going to have this up sooner. And then my draft went missing in my computer file. And that was AFTER I realized that I had completely forgotten about this fanfic since I've been feeling a bit depressed and haven't had much contact with the outside world much when not on my full time internship… I was also planning to make this longer to make up for the previously really short and shitty chapter.**

After some time, after the headaches had stopped and the tears no longer flowed so freely, Hunter quietly gathered up the Oracle Keys and crawled up. Bits of crystal scattered from his clothes and flashed brightly in what little moonlight seeped through the boarded window.

The first thing he noticed was the horrible stench clinging stubbornly to him. The irony scent of blood mingled too well with smells like dank water and mud. His clothes were finally beyond repair this time. What worried him more though was how they were much too small now. His shirt and vest was stretched tight and his shorts were definitely above the knee now. Other odd things included nails that resembled claws, and that his hair, even while tangled and matted with mud still reached the middle of his back. Whatever sleep he had been in was for a long time.

So why was he so tired and exhausted? He felt as if his body was recovering from the aftermath of sprinting through a marathon or something. Legs refused to not bend at the knees, his ankles rolled over even the slightest pebble, and picking up the clothes by the door felt like carrying weights. Even the door was a struggle to push open. For a moment, a horrified thought passed through his mind. Had his muscles atrophied during the time he lay there, immobile and refusing all sustenance? Quickly, he checked his body. Rather than losing weight, it seemed he had gained more muscle instead. Thankfully, it wasn't bulky, or else his flexibility could be compromised. It was lean and fluid. Rather, it seemed to resemble the bodies of people like Igneous. The body of a teenager to say the very least.

The implications whispered horror stories into his mind that he squashed down as quickly as possible. No. He wasn't going to think about something like that right now. As he slowly moved down the halls of the palace, people crowding the hallways either were sound asleep or staring desperately at his blue Manacle. He ignored their stares and hurried to the bathrooms.

If anything was good about living underground, it was geothermal heat. The baths were always warm. To his surprise, a torch was already lit and he didn't have to blindly grope across the shelf for the tired old flint. A boy that looked about his age glared sharply at him.

"Huh? Weren't the older kids supposed to be out on patrol right now? This is seriously the only time the baths are empty."

His gaze however then caught the blood splattered across Hunter's clothes, particularly the large pool over his chest.

"What the-?! Are you alright?" he yelped, about to scramble out of the water.

"You don't have to get out! I'm fine!"

The boy stared incredulously at him, but then, after noticing how nothing was actually bleeding, quietly retreated back under the water to his chin. Hunter quickly stripped and slid into the warm water. His tense muscles relaxed from the heat and he sighed.

"Do you need soap?"

Hunter looked around himself and nodded; a bit embarrassed he had forgotten something so important. A dish with a bar of soap floated over.

"Thanks. What's your name?"

He must have looked pretty bad for a complete stranger to gaze so pityingly at him.

"Quartz. Who… Who are you? I haven't seen you before, and I _live_ here. You look absolutely exhausted."

"That's because I am. I don't know why. I just woke up," he replied, right as his stomach growled angrily.

"Oh."

Quartz tried to muffle his laughs, but eventually Hunter joined in and they laughed loudly, despite the late night.

"Sorry, my name's Hunter!"

Quartz adjusted his seat under the water and curiously repeated the word.

"Hunter. Hunter. That's an odd name. Sounds a bit familiar. Oh? What's with that scar?"

Hunter looked at him, puzzled.

"What scar? Where is it?"

"On your chest," Quartz answered, his voice trailing off in disbelief. Was this guy really older than him by a few years? He sure looked it. Who missed a hideous scar like that?

Hunter examined his chest, and sure enough, a large scar was stretched over his sternum, like an ugly blotch of pinkish scar tissue. The pale sheen of it looked sickly under the poor torchlight. When he touched it, the damaged skin couldn't feel a thing.

"Guess even the Oracle can't heal something like this," he muttered under his breath. "Thanks for pointing it out."

"That's fine. You want to start washing all that dirt off of you?"

"That is actually a really good idea."

Cleaning off everything felt wonderful. The filth turned the water around him a cloudy grey and even Quartz inched further away. When he was all clean, Hunter tried to pull himself out of the tub, but couldn't. He a bit more effort in and this time managed to get out. As he put on the new clothes he had found by the shattered crystal, he wondered just how paranoid his near death had made the others.

There was a fitted black undershirt and leggings, with metal plates attached to strategic areas, such as the front of the turtleneck and his shins and the wrists of the long sleeves. Over went a loose, short-sleeved tunic and a new pair of shorts. There really was no need for the armoring in his opinion, but if the others thought so, then why not. There was no way he could get stabbed through the chest now, and the clothes were so soft and barely any heavier despite the metal. After he adjusted the clothes to be comfortable, he pushed back his bangs which nearly reached his chin now and put on the headband. Finally he snapped on his Manacle and stretched, an utterance of pleasure escaping from his mouth.

"Whew! Feeling so much better now!"

Quartz had also gotten out and gotten dressed. Looking at Quartz's clothes, Hunter could've sworn it was a military uniform of sorts. He looked only thirteen or so, so why would he be in something like that?

"That crest-! You didn't tell me you were a Spider Rider! Wait, that Manacle too!"

On the side of his right calf on the leggings was an embroidered spider of gold with a small green gem sewn in. He raised his leg and examined it closely.

"It looks really pretty."

"That spider's gold too! That's supposed to be the mark of the Oracle's knight! Huh?" Realization slowly dawned on him. "Are you, _the_ Hunter Steele?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"I've heard the other Spider Riders always mention that name, and they always told us that we'd have the Oracle's knight soon. Everyone was excited that they might be chosen, but I guess they meant something entirely different," he explained, his eyes becoming pained near the end. Hunter watched him, and then lightly whacked Quartz in the stomach.

"C'mon, straighten up! Bad posture can be pretty bad for you! Don't ever give up, alright? Go with the flow."

Quartz chuckled and did as Hunter said.

"You're right. That's good advice. Do you need to eat anything? Your stomach is still growling."

"Please! I'm starving!"

"You sure don't seem like a knight of the Oracle. How old are you?"

"Twelve."

Quartz choked on his words and his jaw muscles lost all tension.

"No way! No way! That can't be possible! I'm thirteen. You look around fifteen or sixteen!"

"Oh. So. Oh. I was asleep for three years?"

"What exactly _happened_ to you?"

"I got stabbed by a failure Oracle and the real one saved my life."

The nonchalant explanation was so outrageous that Quartz simply accepted it in stride. It was late, and his willingness to deal with something like this was drifting away by the minute.

"Let's go get something to eat."

"Oh, don't worry, I know the way."

"Yeah, but we're technically on rationing right now."

"What? No fair."


	10. Present Arc 5

Hunter drank the rest of the water in his cup and flipped up his left wrist to glace worriedly at the gem on his Manacle. Silently, he called himself an idiot for forgetting completely about Shadow. The spider was going to kill him for randomly getting himself stabbed and stuck in a block of crystal. There was also something else he was getting worried about. The last time Shadow reacted to Hunter getting so injured, he killed an old lady. Granted, she wasn't innocent, but it was still quite a shock. Rather, it was more of a shock to him. He hadn't realized how much Shadow had cared for him. Shit, what if he'd pushed the spider off the deep end after nearly dying like this? His gaze grew absent-minded as he wondered why Shadow would care about him like this? He was definitely older than Hunter by quite a bit, that much he could tell from the way the spider spoke and acted. He guessed that Shadow was probably around his twenties? Maybe it was familial instinct. Maybe spiders in the Inner World had actual families compared to the world above. Well, it was all a really far reaching hunch. What exactly was he to Shadow? Younger brother? Rider? Partner? Friend? Companion?

Mental support?

If so, for what?

"Sir? Are you alright?"

Hunter was gently pulled back to the present.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. What's with the 'sir'? Call me Hunter. It's easier, right? Since I'm younger than you."

Quartz sighed.

"True, but you still look older," he replied, a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Hey, Quartz? Did you hear anything about my spider, Shadow? I haven't seen him in three years, so…" Hunter's voice trailed off uncertainly.

Quartz laughed lightly and stared in wonder at Hunter.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you? I can't even react properly anymore after everything you've told me. Si-Hunter, the spider you speak of, Shadow, has more or less become a legend amongst the Arachna kingdom and his reputation still spreads. He slaughters golems without the aid of thea Rider, and he cooperates with the current Spider Riders remarkably well for one with the pride of a great warrior. His nickname is the 'Shadow of Death'."

"What?! I go into a coma for a bit and he becomes a badass without me? What the hell?!"

"Hunter? I don't understand a lot of the slang you use."

"It's just stuff from the Outer; what the hell Shadow?! I was actually worried about you!"

"I must admit, I didn't expect your steed to be the Shadow of Death."

Hunter shook his head.

"He's not a steed. He's my best friend. The good thing is that he's okay, right?"

Quartz's expression turned sour.

"Well, he may be healthy, but he has a horrible personality. I've run into him a few times and he hardly speaks. The only time I hear him comment about anything is to criticize and or say goodbye. Plus, the way he fights is so reckless that if the other Spider Riders aren't fighting with him, normal soldiers like us have no way of predicting what he's about to do!"

"Oh my god he really is going to kill me."

"What?"

Hunter was holding his face in his hands and groaning.

"Shadow's usually only like that when he's pissed off nowadays. He's gonna scold me non-stop once he sees me again. I don't want to listen to him for hours! Oh jeez, I'll never hear the end of it! That's it! I'm gonna avoid him for the time being!"

Quartz seemed to have grown a bit bolder and flicked Hunter in the head. It had finally become clear to him that for all appearances and titles, Hunter really was still mentally a child younger than him.

"How can you say that? I always thought it strange that he would wait almost always wait after fighting by the window of some rundown storage room, but now I understand. You were there. For three years, as you slept, he kept waiting for you! Why are you being so selfish?! How can you make someone that obviously cares for you wait like this, making him suffer so much more than is necessary?! Have some common sense!"

Hunter stared at Quartz in shock, than smiled shamefully.

"Thanks. You're right. I'm gonna go look for him. Can you help me out?"

"Of course, for the Oracle's Knight."

The peaceful silence was shattered like the fragile glass it was with piercing screams. The two of them jumped and quickly ran out into the halls. Hunter had always taken some pride in his night vision that could sometimes rival that of Shadow's and he saw the threat first. He snatched Quartz's collar and tucked them both away behind one of the pillars. Hunter shuddered and his mouth was going dry. He hoped that thing hadn't seen them.

"What is it?"

"I-I think it's a golem," he whispered to Quartz, "small and black."

"It's just a sentry. Whew. Don't worry, those things can't see, and the only thing they can do it wander around and attack anything that touches them. I can't blame people for panicking though."

Hunter couldn't help but notice a contradiction between what Quartz said, and what he had seen.

True, the sentry resembled a genderless mannequin carved out of obsidian, and it was also slim and the average height of a human, but it also had something else. Its featureless head, the completely smooth surface of it, right in the center of it, was a single eyeball. Blood flowed freely from it and droplets splattered those nearby as it swung its head around frantically, searching for something.

"It's got an eye."

"Please tell me you're lying."

"Nuh-uh."

"This is bad."

All of a sudden, they could hear thundering sound of stone being cracked on stone. In seconds, that bleeding eyeball was looking directly at Hunter.

Up close, the eye was even more nauseating. It was yellowed and clouded over, making it some unclear color. With every swivel of it in its stone socket, Hunter could see blood vessels bursting as it's blood tears dripped onto the tiles below. Those trails of red spilled freely and always gathered in a pool at its chin before splattering down like some unholy fountain. Its gaze traveled to Quartz, and Hunter quickly shielded the other boy right as the sentry threw a deadly punch of stone at him.

The fist, which was more like a rounded stone bounced off his wrist armor, but he could still feel the crack of a bone a cried out in pain.

"Hunter!"

"I can hold it off! Go get some help! I think it wants me, so hurry!"

Quartz sprinted off, and just as Hunter suspected, the golem made no move to chase after his new friend.

"It hurts," he whimpered quietly, trying to ignore that strange feeling of his body trying to numb the pain of a broken bone.

He began dodging the barrage of kicks and punches that followed, avoiding what he could and blocking the inevitable hits. He knew that by now there were ribs broken and miscellaneous things cracked, but to his surprise, they began healing almost instantly after the damage had been inflicted. Everything still hurt though. He began to watch the sentry's movements more and more, catching what patterns that it showed. There was a pattern, for sure! He let himself take some hits, once he realized that his body was, to some degree, now expendable, and then, as it threw a devastating right hook, he ducked, grabbed the limb, and using the momentum, threw the stone sentry into the wall. Its head cracked off, the eyeball shot out, and the arm he gripped so tightly broke off into his hands.

Hunter breathed hard, and slowly calmed himself down. The sentry, he wasn't positive, but he was fairly sure it was dead. Grimly, he whacked it with its own arm. It didn't move.

Now he was positive.

**Yo, author here! Just for an FYI, marching season starts on Monday, and the school year follows soon after. So basically, everything is about to be put on hold for about threeee months.**


	11. Present Arc 6

**Hello, I'm back.**

The broken statue stared blankly at him, and his stomach fluttered nauseously. He held his mouth shut and waited for the wave of sickness to pass before taking deep breaths again.

This, this _thing_ had no doubt been sent by Obsidian. How did she know he was awake? For all intents and purposes, she should've assumed he was dead after being stabbed. Somehow she had found out.

Maybe he was being a bit suspicious here. After all, he was just in a shed the whole time. Even if the door was locked, a curious guard could have just peeked in one day. Hunter groaned and closed his eyes from exhaustion. Something like this would tire out anyone, years of sleep or not. Eventually, his weariness and lurking paranoia turned into irritation.

Where the hell was Quartz?

It had been almost twenty minutes by now. That was stupidly slow for any sort of emergency, no matter how small or insignificant. The stares from people were beginning to converge on him and people were beginning to leave behind their weariness and draw ever so closer. The irritability refused to pass and he stomped off and away, leaving the eyeball in the rock to fester and rot on its own.

"Stupid Quartz, taking all his sweet time," he grumbled, kicking at rocks and grass. The palace garden looked ravaged and was entering separate stages of decay or degradation. Plots that once held brilliant flowers were being devoted to simple crops instead, and whatever could be taken or trampled upon was long gone. This world was unfamiliar and strange. He had always escaped into the garden to hide, and it wasn't long before he knew the place better than even Princess Sparkle. Vaguely, he wondered what happened to her. By now, she should've been about ten, right? And Lumen was probably around thirteen or something. He needed to sort out his thoughts right now. He glanced down at the rapidly fading bruise on his wrist. Hell, he had a lot of things he had to sort out.

He located the large tree reminiscent of a palm with an un-pronounceable name, and ran his fingers along the ringed bark, searching in the darkness for the footholds that had been carved in eons ago by some unknown royalty. It stood proud and tall, but hidden away, on the border between palace grounds and the forest. The reason he even knew it was still part of the garden was a miniscule plaque embedded into the base of the trunk, the letters worn smooth as glass. He'd found it one time playing hide-and-seek with Princess Sparkle. It was a nice place to rest, and he even kept it as a secret place to hide away from Shadow's frequent scoldings. His fingertips caught on a groove, and an unmistakable grin spread onto his face. He was ascent was slow and clumsy. The already dim light was obscured by thick branches and tree limbs so prolific that the good eyes he was so proud of were rendered useless. It was only when he reached the top that the gold light of the core shined again onto him. He preferred moonlight to core-light, since at night it was sickly pale yellow. At least the moon varied between silver and washed gold.

The climb refreshed his mind and he went about re-organizing his thoughts.

Number one on the list was that he was a quarter Handmaiden. How did that even work?

Two, his grandma was a Handmaiden who was also a Rider with a blue Manacle.

Three, he had a blue Manacle.

Four, his grandma could travel freely between the two worlds due to her link with the Oracle, could he do the same?

Five, the Oracle had saved his life and made his injuries heal much, much faster.

Six, Obsidian had declared war on Arachna.

Seven, she knew he was alive. How did she know that?

Eight, he had been asleep for three years.

Nine, what the hell was going on? Where was Shadow and everyone else?

"Is that you, Hunter?"

The familiar voice stirred him from his thoughts, and he leaned over the branches. The spider he saw was unfamiliarly large.

"Holy shit, what happened to you, Shadow?"

Shadow said nothing more and leapt up to the canopy in one bound. Luckily, the vast tree had more than enough space for the both of them. Still, it creaked uncomfortably under the extra weight. Shadow crawled close to Hunter, inspecting him.

"Shadow, you got really freaking huge."

No response. More silence. A twinge of fear flashed over Hunter's face. He eased a few inches back as Shadow advanced. Shadow didn't stop until his mandibles could brush against Hunter's carteroid.

"S-Shadow? Are you angry at me or something?" His breathing quickened as he felt the neutral temperature of an exoskeleton press down, and then lessen.

"It really is you."

"Ah, jeez! You scared the crap outta me! What was that for?"

"I haven't talked to you in three years and that's all you can say?"

"I haven't seen you in three years and that's the first thing you do?!"

He groaned and tugged at his hair before looking back up at Shadow.

"I'm sorry, were you lonely?"

"Don't worry about that. I'm glad you're awake."

"I'm glad I finally got to see you again. What happened while I was out?"

"I think they can explain."

"'They'?"

"Your friends, who else?"

"HUNTER! HUUUUUNTER! IS THAT YOU?!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU USE THE MANACLE TO TELL US YOU WERE UP!?"

"Whoa! Is that Aqune? Ah, Igneous!"

"Everyone's back because of the war."

"War? Oh, so it's that bad?"

"Worse."

Hunter sighed and leaned against Shadow.

"Well, you'll be with me, right?"

Shadow was utterly still, before he shifted and threw Hunter onto his back.

"Why wouldn't I?"


	12. Present Arc 7

**Hi, I'm back! After finals and college and other nasty (but necessary) stuff. Ah... It's about time I started moving the plot forward, huh?**

As he rode back with Aqune and Igneous, it became painfully obvious that Shadow was giving him a non-existent shoulder cold enough to freeze over hell. The tension hanging around them was thick enough to suffocate someone. Aqune, Igneous, Flame, and Portia were wise enough to stay out of the whole mess.

"When exactly did you wake up? Everyone was worried sick," Aqune asked, her voice as clear as ever.

"A-a while ago!" He stuttered, feeling Shadow's irritation surge. Aqune turned away with a smile that looked just the tiniest bit forced.

"I see."

"Did you like the new clothes we got you?"

This time he turned to face Igneous.

"Yeah! They're really comfortable," he said. "Wait, is Quartz alright? He said he was coming back with backup but never came."

"Ah, I'll explain," he said, with some shame, "you took care of the situation quite well, and no alarm was ever sounded, so the guards actually didn't take him seriously until he took down a fully grown man and started pounding on our door as if his life depended on it."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, he may be around your current age, but he's extremely strong. He's one of the best in his class actually. To be honest, I think his strength could rival that of Slate someday. Perhaps even surpass him."

"Wow, that's pretty cool."

With that, the conversation fizzled out pathetically. It was to be expected, but he didn't think it'd hurt him this much. Being gone for three years during a war had definitely damaged every single relationship he'd ever had in the Inner World. Besides, what excuse had they all concocted to explain his mysterious disappearance? Had they said he'd died, or gone on a journey of sorts- what exactly? He gently lowered himself onto Shadow's back and sat down. Sudden exhaustion had suddenly swept him off his feet, and the world blurred into a spiral for a few moments. All this worrying and thinking was making him tired. What a joke. All that sleeping and he was still so tired. He took out the Oracle Keys, admiring them for a moment under the darkened core's light. His abnormal regenerative ability and Shadow's bizarre growth were no doubt linked to the Oracle's powers. She'd obviously decided to bet on them for victory against Obsidian. The problem was, what exactly had she bet? He sighed and put away the Keys. He was alive and stronger than before, but it was obvious that he'd traded in a few things in exchange.

"Shadow, I'm going to sleep," he murmured, pressing his face against Shadow's cool exoskeleton.

"Don't you dare."

"Huh?"

"The least you can do is stay awake long enough to greet everyone else."

Hunter smiled and closed his eyes anyway.

"I really screwed up this time, huh? Don't worry, I'll stay awake."

"You stupid idiot, worrying all of us like that. Did you even think about the consequences when you woke up? The first thing you did was go take a bath!"

"Oh shut up," he mumbled, "there was blood and dirt everywhere and I felt like crap. Give me a break."

"You've had one for three years straight."

"Gosh, you're never going to live that one down, are you? I went through a freaking nightmare that whole time."

Shadow didn't respond for a few moments.

"I don't know what you saw that entire time, but try thinking about things from my point of view, you worthless Rider."

That comment stung, but when Hunter did think it though, something happened. Hunter's bare palms touching Shadow suddenly felt like they were fusing into the exoskeleton, and Shadow's brisk pace shattered and broke into a disorganized push forward as the two of them exchanged three years of helplessness and despair. It swallowed each of them in a moment of brief panic and within seconds it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Shadow skidded to a halt as a wave of nausea overtook them both, and Igneous and Aqune also stopped and hurried over.

"What happened?!" Igneous said, letting Hunter bury his face into his cloak, trying desperately not to empty out his internal organs through his mouth. Shadow trembled uncontrollably and Aqune warily touched his head. She leapt back from the unexpected feeling and stumbled away to vomit in the garden's nearby shrubbery. Igneous watched everything, utterly confused, and reflexively ruffled Hunter's hair soothingly, the way he treated the other children currently housed in the palace.

After what seemed like minutes, Aqune returned, looking very pale.

"Where... where did you learn how to do that?"

"Do... what?" Shadow slowly forced out, since Hunter could only listen.

"The Oracle's Handmaidens' have certain gifts, such as finding things based on the flow of life or power, or linking minds. What you two did was a messy, mutual link," she said shakily, "what... the Oracle, she's done something."

Hunter looked up, his face deathly pale. He took a few breaths, trying to force down whatever was trying to come up, desperately digging his nails into Shadow and clenching a fist around Igneous' cape.

"I-I remember after... After I fell asleep that, that I'm a quarter Handmaiden," he somehow managed to finish before covering his mouth. Aside from the raging urge to spill out his guts, and piercing migraine that resembled a pile driver being stabbed between his eyes was beginning to take place. If Shadow's sudden slump to the ground meant anything, he felt just as crappy as Hunter.

"G-gramps was normal, but apparently my- my grandma was a- a Handmaiden."

After saying that, he vomited. Luckily, he didn't see any lungs, or a stomach, and instead spilled out the entire content of his stomach.

Weakly, he crawled back onto Shadow.

"Hey, Shadow? Let's go home," he quietly sobbed.

Shadow didn't reply and began speeding home. They both were suffering, and as they hurried back to the palace, Hunter cried non-stop, as Shadow felt his heart split in two. The three years had been hard on them both. The sobbing turned into loud bawling and Shadow was forced to stop.

"I hate everything!" Hunter screamed. For the first time ever, Shadow saw his Rider throwing a childish, pained tantrum. He jumped off of Shadow and began stomping his foot, kicking rocks, and punching the ground until his hands were bloody. The acrid smell of blood reached Shadow, and he promptly knocked Hunter to the ground.

"Stop that! You'll hurt yourself!"

"I don't care! I had to remember everything, and I come back and it's all gone to hell, and we're lost!"

"Shut up! I know how to get back! I can smell!"

For some reason, hearing Shadow scold him was oddly comforting. Familiar, actually. He stopped hurting himself and wiped at his tears and runny nose.

"Your face is all swollen," Shadow said.

"Oh."

Hunter sat in front of Shadow, embarrassed at how he had acted.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit overwhelmed."

Shadow's sigh was weighed with fatigue, but his voice was layered with relief and comfort.

"At this point, I'm just glad you're back."

Aqune and Igneous were nowhere to be seen, and Hunter hoped they had simply gone ahead without him. He blotted out his tears a bit more and eventually lay on the ground, exhausted.

"When did you grow so much?"

Shadow's question caught him by surprise.

"I should be asking you. You were fully grown last time I saw."

"The Oracle said I would need strength, and she made me grow bigger, but I'm faster too."

"Huh. I'm sorry. You must've been lonely. You were acting like a jerk and people were complaining about you. You're usually nicer than that."

"No, I'm only comfortable around whoever I know well."

"If you weren't comfortable around me, I'd be kinda worried."

"Maybe I'm too comfortable. I even let you see me hunt and eat."

"I was curious!"

"You couldn't eat anything that night, but you're important to all of us."

"Really?"

"At the very least, I promise I won't leave you."

Hunter felt like crying some more. He covered his face in shame and let the tears flow.

"You really won't leave like everyone else?"

"Promise. I won't be like your parents or your gramps."

"That's… that's good."


End file.
